Riverdale Review: Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia (Season 3 Episode 11)
On Riverdale Season 3 Episode 11, “Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia,” Betty solves a string of murders while Jughead investigates the attempt on Hiram’s life. Elsewhere, a formidable villain emerges.
Riverdale takes a tongue-in-cheek approach, using the elements of classic film noir to highlight the infusion of femme fatales who are proving to be even more duplicitous than Hiram Lodge, Clifford Blossom, and the Black Hood combined.
The episode also marks a turning point in how the characters who reside in Riverdale view the town. There’s a lot less interest in saving Riverdale than surviving it. Jughead refers to the locals as “lost souls,” and Betty calls their little hamlet “wicked.”
One by one, Archie and his friends are witnessing the crumbling of family values. They have a front row seat in their own homes. Even Archie, who enjoys the perks of an attentive and normal father, has an absentee mother.
Our perception of women as mothers and nurturers really takes a hit on “Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia. ” Penelope’s motivation for murdering men stems from being victimized by them (the Monsignor, Clifford). Her decision to take out Claudius is because of the toxic run-off which causes the young women of Riverdale to convulse.
It’s impossible to ignore the parallels between the Black Hood and the Red Dahlia. They both practice moral relativism. To them, killing isn’t a crime; it’s a punishment.
Even Betty, who is very in touch with her dark side, has clung to a certain unassailable sense of right and wrong which she’s been rethinking over the course of Riverdale‘s three seasons.
Riverdale continues to keep viewers guessing, dangling the shiny obvious answer in front of our eyes while constructing much more intricate and unexpected conclusions to major storylines.
Hermione Lodge, who has been conspicuously absent from any real juicy storylines this season, emerges as a criminal mastermind and cold-blooded murderer. Hermione has always been a character who straddles the line between being tough but also a tad tortured.
Hermione vacillates between being an active participant or complicit in Hiram’s crimes and a bird kept prisoner in a gilded cage. But “Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia,” makes us rethink everything we thought we know about the mobster’s wife.
It’s not shocking that Hermione is behind the attacks on Hiram, and after witnessing how badly Hiram treats his own family, who could really blame her? But Hermione doesn’t care her husband played a pivotal role in poisoning her daughter; she just wants a big payout.
All of the characters on Riverdale are currently tenuously tied together by their crimes, making what comes next a big question mark. It’s hard to imagine the inhabitants of Riverdale sliding any further into depravity, so will the remainder of the season focus on redemption?
What did you think of this episode of Riverdale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
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Jennifer Lind-Westbrook
Jennifer has been working as a freelance writer for six years, contributing to BuddyTV, Screen Rant, TVRage, Hidden Remote, Gossip On This, and PopMatters. She prefers binge-watching old episodes of The Office (British and American versions) to long walks on the beach. She's still holding out hope that Happy Endings will get a revival.